SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crown Bioscience, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crown Bioscience International (TWSE:ticker 6554) and a global drug discovery and development services company providing translational platforms to advance oncology, inflammation, cardiovascular and metabolic disease research, announces that their integrated oncology platform has facilitated the preclinical development of a HERA-GITRL immunotherapeutic from Apogenix. HERA-GITRL is an immunotherapy showing antitumor activity in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and Head and Neck Cancer.

The data derived from studies using CrownBio's portfolio were first presented by Apogenix in an oral presentation at the AACR 2017 Annual Meeting. These data showed the immunotherapy's potential clinical utility and demonstrated the benefits of using CrownBio's platform in preclinical efficacy testing.

"CrownBio's integrated oncology platform confirmed our agent's efficacy in NSCLC and head and neck cancers," said Dr. Mauricio Redondo Müller, Director, Preclinical Development at Apogenix. "The scientific expertise, predictive tools, and well-validated models CrownBio provides gave us the data we needed to progress our HERA-GITRL immunotherapy to the next stage."

"It is our mission to deliver innovative technologies so that companies like Apogenix can leverage and accelerate their research," said Laurie Heilmann, SVP of Global Strategy, Marketing & Business Development. "Our scientific oncology platform uniquely enhances preclinical immunotherapy development and will continue to deliver valuable insights that drive new discoveries in this area."

Apogenix develops innovative immuno-oncology therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other malignant diseases. The company has built a promising pipeline of immuno-oncology drug candidates that target different tumor necrosis factor superfamily (TNFSF)-dependent signaling pathways, thereby restoring the immune response against tumors. Since its inception in fall 2005, Apogenix has raised more than 100 million euros in financing rounds, public grants, and upfront payments from licensing agreements. The company is based in Heidelberg, Germany.

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Source: Crown Bioscience Inc. via Globenewswire